


Together

by Night_StormCaptain



Series: Pidgance Month 2k17 [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hunay, M/M, Shatt, kallura, plance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-06
Updated: 2017-12-06
Packaged: 2019-02-11 07:10:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12930129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Night_StormCaptain/pseuds/Night_StormCaptain





	Together

“So, does everyone have a companion for the banquet tomorrow?”

Pidge mentally kicked herself as Allura spoke, looking at each Paladin in turn.  Despite the princess’s warnings that the Evonrians would only speak to others in pairs, she hadn’t managed to find a date.   _ No, a companion, _ she corrected herself.   _ It’s not really a date.   _ Truthfully, she hadn’t had a clue who to ask, but she couldn’t just skip the banquet -- all the Paladins were expected to attend.

Hunk spoke up, snapping Pidge out of her reverie.  “Shay agreed to accompany me.”  Was it Pidge’s imagination, or did a hint of a blush color his cheeks?

Shiro was the next to respond.  “Matt will be meeting us there to accompany me.”

Pidge whistled.  “Nice going!”  She took a silent vow that her brother would never hear the end of her teasing.

The room fell silent, and after an awkward pause, Allura cleared her threat.  “What about you, Keith?”

Keith stood, shuffling his feet.  “Oh.  Well, I didn’t want to ask like this, but I was hoping maybe… that maybe you’d want to be my companion?”

Allura’s eyes widened briefly, then she smiled.  “I would love to.”

“Well, there goes my plan,” Lance grumbled.

Pidge glowered at him.  “You can’t try and tell me there aren’t loads of alien girls just falling over themselves to go with you.”

Lance rubbed his neck awkwardly.  “Well, yeah, but I… ah… I don’t really have ways of contacting any of them.”

Allura sighed.  “You had nearly a whole phoeb to find a companion!  How do you expect this to work?”  She let out an exasperated huff.  “Did anyone  _ else  _ wait until the last minute to ask someone?”

Pidge shrugged uncomfortably.  “There really wasn’t anyone I  _ could  _ ask, since the Evonrians don’t count robots as people.”

“Why don’t you two just go together?” Keith suggested drily.  “That would solve both problems.”

Pidge opened her mouth and found that she had no response.  Lance, for his part, began to complain, but Allura cut him off.  “I think that sounds perfect!  So it’s settled: I will be Keith’s companion, Shay will be Hunk’s, Matt will accompany Shiro, and Lance and Pidge will accompany each other.”  She turned and whisked away from the breakfast table, leaving the Paladins in stunned silence.

~*~*~*~*~

As the Castle approached Evonra, Allura lectured the Paladins and their companions.  If she was nervous, she gave no sign beyond her pacing and endless reminders.  “Remember, no matter how difficult it is, you must not let go of your companion’s hand.  Remain together at all times, and defer to each other in everything, the way Evonrians do.  When dinner is served--”

“Allura.”  Keith gently cut her off, hesitantly taking her left hand in his right.  “We’ve been over this at least five times.”

“You’re right.  I’m sorry.”

“Landing on Evonra in approximately… ah… seven ticks,” Coran warned, and everyone braced for landing.  “Six… five… four…”

Pidge walked over to join Lance, unable to meet his gaze.  They had avoided each other the whole afternoon, and several times, she had caught him glaring daggers at Keith.  Now, though, he seemed resigned to his fate, taking her right hand as soon as she was near enough and managing an encouraging smile.  “You ready for this?”

Pidge’s heart thudded loudly, and she felt certain she was gripping his hand much too tightly, though she couldn’t seem to loosen her hold.  “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Hey.”  At Lance’s tone, she turned to look him in the eyes and was startled by how soft his expression was, despite the mischievous smile that played around his lips.  “Since we’re stuck together anyway, let’s try and have some fun tonight, okay?”

Pidge felt a small smile creeping across her face in spite of herself.  “Okay.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Announcing the Paladins of Voltron and their Beloveds!”

“ _ Beloveds? _ ” Lance demanded in a whisper.

Allura twisted to answer him over her shoulder.  “ _ That’s how the Evonrians refer to their companions.  One’s companion is the person they feel closest to. _ ”

Lance turned bright red, and Pidge was certain she looked no better.  “ _ You could have told us that before! _ ” he complained.

“ _ Shush, _ ” Keith whispered.  The doors of the grand ballroom swung open, and Keith and Allura entered, followed by Pidge and Lance, with Hunk and Shay behind them and Matt and Shiro bringing up the rear.  The packed room burst into applause in the Evonrian way, stamping their feet rather than clapping their hands.  Tables were scattered around the edges of the room, with an open floor in the middle, and Pidge noticed that the chairs were each wide enough to seat two people comfortably.

As the Paladins entered the crowd, they were immediately swarmed.  Aliens of all races had been invited, but the majority of the guests were Evonrians, easily distinguished by their many arms.  On one side of each Evonrian, innumerable short, noodly arms waved and flailed, while to their other side, every tiny hand grasped the corresponding hand of a different Evonrian.  They were some of the strangest-looking people Pidge had ever encountered.

A pair of Evonrians in resplendent blue robes approached Pidge and Lance.  “Why are there only eight of you?” the one on the left inquired.  “Are there not five Paladins?”

“There are,” Pidge assured him quickly.  “Lance and I are both Paladins, we just came together rather than finding other comp-- that is, Beloveds.”

“I see,” said the Evonrian on the right with a smile.  “Surely you must be the strongest of all the Paladins, in that case.”

“Um…”  Pidge wasn’t sure how to respond to that.

“We’re not, like,  _ together  _ together,” Lance corrected, a little too quickly for Pidge’s liking.  The two Evonrians grimaced, turning and walking away without another word.

“That might not have been the wisest thing to say,” Pidge said drily.  “It looks like, for tonight at least, we have to act like we really are  _ together  _ together.”

A pair of voices rang out through the room in unison.  “Attention!  Dinner will be served shortly!  Please be seated!”

Pidge and Lance made their way through the crowd to claim a seat at one of the many small, square tables.  Each table had one double chair per side, providing seats for a total of eight guests.  Pidge and Lance ended up with a pair of Evonrians to their right, two somewhat awkward-looking, vaguely birdlike creatures across from them, and Keith and Allura to their left.

As soon as everyone was seated, Evonrian waiters emerged from doors all along the opposite end of the room from where the Paladins had entered, each pair carrying an enormous serving platter.  As they dispersed throughout the room, quiet music began to play from hidden speakers, and a low murmur of conversation began to fill the air.

The Evonrians at Pidge’s table broke the awkward silence that had hung over the four pairs.  “So, tell us about your Beloveds,” said one with greenish hair and huge eyes.

“Yes, how did your connections come to be?” asked the other, a thin Evonrian man with a long nose.

One of the birdlike aliens let out a long squawk, cleared her threat, and tried again.  “Krawwik and I have known each other all our lives.”

“Brekk and I were destined to be together from the moment we were hatched,” Krawwik agreed.

The Evonrians nodded as one.  “And what of you, Paladins?” Long Nose inquired.

Pidge and Lance exchanged an uncomfortable look, unsure how to respond.  Meanwhile, Allura leaned her head against Keith’s shoulder.  “When Keith and I first met, he wasn’t very trusting, but he gradually has opened up to me, and we have grown quite close.”

Keith nodded, resting his head on top of hers.  “I still can’t believe that out of everyone Allura could have chosen, she fell for me.”

Seeming satisfied, the Evonrians turned their attention to Pidge and Lance.  “What about the Green and Blue Paladins?” Huge Eyes pestered, and it seemed almost like a challenge to Pidge.

Fortunately, they were interrupted by the arrival of food.  A pair of Evonrian waiters set their enormous platter on the table, lifting the cover to reveal… berries.  Heaps of berries of every color and shape imaginable, and absolutely nothing else.  Eight large, scoop-like spoons with short handles ringed the platter.  The Evonrians each grabbed a scoop and began to alternate between feeding themselves and each other.

Lance made an alarmed, strangled noise.  “How are we supposed to do that?” he asked anxiously.

Pidge hummed thoughtfully.  “It’s like that time when Allura cuffed us all together to eat.  What did we do then?”

Lance gave her a blank look.  “Didn’t we start a food fight?”

Pidge smirked. “I seem to recall that we did.”

Lance’s eyes widened.  “I see where you’re going with this…"

As one, Pidge and Lance seized spoons, filled them with heaping scoops of berries, and flung their tasty projectiles across the table, where they splattered across the stunned faces of the Evonrians.  Allura gaped at them, a horrified expression on her face.  “What did you just do?!” Keith exclaimed, his voice drenched with shock.

After a very pregnant pause, Huge Eyes spoke.  “You challenge us to food combat?”

“Um… we challenge everyone to food combat!” Pidge declared, hoping this wouldn’t end up getting her thrown in prison or worse.

“Every pair for themselves!” Lance agreed.

“Then let us begin!”  Quicker than a blink, Long Nose began hurling berries at Pidge and Lance, his many tiny arms a blur.  She stood, tugging Lance over to hide behind Keith and Allura, who soon joined the fray.  Within minutes, the food combat became an all-out food war, all thoughts of eating abandoned as berries flew through the air, staining everyone's fancy clothes, not to mention the walls, floor, and ceiling.

Pidge and Lance stood in the midst of it all, laughing hysterically at the chaos they had caused, their hands still clasped together.  Grinning, Lance squeezed Pidge’s hand.  “This turned out more fun than I was expecting.”

Pidge giggled.  “Who would have thought the uptight Evonrians would get so into a food fight?”

Lance shrugged.  “And who would have thought my Beloved would be the one to start it?”

Pidge froze.  “Am I?”

“Are you what?”

“Your Beloved.”

“According to the Evonrians, yes!”  Lance started to laugh, but stopped when he saw the look on her face.  His expression turned thoughtful.  “Yeah, I think you are.”

~*~*~*~*~

That night, the Paladins and their Beloveds returned to the Castle completely worn out but in a good humor.  Rather than dispersing to their rooms, they gathered in the lounge, separating to collapse on the sofas.  Only Pidge and Lance remained connected, and Hunk noticed.  “You two realize you can let go now, right?”

Pidge laughed.  “Of course,” she replied, “but who says we want to?”


End file.
